Putting passion into coaching

Head coach Ruben Gonzalez conducting and directing the team during practice. He has led the women’s team to two national championships and three state championships.

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Women’s soccer head coach Ruben Gonzalez has been coaching soccer for 22 years and also played as a defender because of his height.

Gonzalez started coaching at Cerritos College in 2005.

Ever since then, the women’s team has won three state championships in the last six years and two national championships.

Gonzalez talked about why he likes soccer, “It’s just a passion. It’s in your blood; it’s the culture that is instilled in you.”

“My father is from Guadalajara, Mexico and I got to go to a world cup in 1986 in Mexico. Just through the years, you have always been surronded by the game of soccer. I followed Mexican soccer and now the Spanish league and the English Premier league.”

Before coaching, Gonzalez played for Cal State LA under Leonardo Cuellar, who is currently the head coach of the Mexico national women’s team.
Gonzalez said about his experience coaching here at Cerritos College, “It’s great, I learned from other coaches I worked with.

You learn every day from players and assistant coaches, and it’s an honor to be able to coach here at Cerritos College. We have established a great program, I think we have one of the top programs in the country.”

Gonzalez went on to talk about the major accomplishments he has had at Cerritos College, “Winning our first state championship in 2007 (was great), but I think the greatest accomplishment is moving players forward to four-year schools and having them get an education.”

He jokingly said, “Working with women, it’s always a challenge.”

Gonzalez went on to elaborate, “It’s a great experience, but it’s a challenge. Everyday is something new and you try to get them to work together.”

As for his inspiration, Gonzalez talked about this father, “He was a man who came to this country illegally.

“He would get up at five o’clock in the morning to go to work. He instilled the hard work and dedication.

“He didn’t want us to work in labor jobs, so he always wanted us to go to school. He’s always been my inspiration and he’s at all my games. That’s what keeps me going.”

Freshman forward Carolina Ornelas said about Gonzalez, “The head coach is really nice to us; he’s like a father to us.”

Ornelas, who is in her first year of playing with the team, talked about how much she has developed. “I learned a lot from him ever since I came here. I have done better ever since I got out of high school.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Alexis Carrillo had some thoughts about Gonzalez, “He is a really good coach. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to soccer.

“He knows what our best features are and what position we should be in and what we should be doing.”

She continued, “He is very nice. He cares about his players, he cares about us.”

Sophomore forward Claudia Lopez gave her thoughts on Gonzalez, “As a person, I think that he is awesome because not only is he helping us out on the field, but he also helps us on our education. He worries about our grades. He keeps us on track.”